Guillermo del Toro is finally getting to become a puppet master. After years of trying to put the film on its feet, the Oscar-winning director is now setting up a stop-motion animated version of Pinocchio at Netflix.
This take on the classic tale will be set in Italy during the rise of fascism in the 1930s. It sounds as though it'll channel a similar vibe to Pan's Labyrinth, which also explored totalitarianism through fantasy.
After largely taking a break from directing following the success of The Shape Of Water (though he's still been producing other projects and writing scripts), Pinocchio will see him diving back into filmmaking, on to polish his script alongside Patrick McHale and produce the film, with Mark Gustafson as co-director And he has some top notch support in this new effort, as the Jim Henson company co-produces and Corpse Bride team Mackinnon and Saunders are providing the puppets.
"No art form has influenced my life and my work more than animation and no single character in history has had as deep of a personal connection to me as Pinocchio," he said in a statement. "In our story, Pinocchio is an innocent soul with an uncaring father who gets lost in a world he cannot comprehend. He embarks on an extraordinary journey that leaves him with a deep understanding of his father and the real world. I’ve wanted to make this movie for as long as I can remember."
If this one works, could the hefty Netflix coffers please open to help him make At The Mountains Of Madness?
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